On retirement Jackie left Trelay with Roger to embark on a 100 day trip, visiting Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and India, staying with several Servas hosts and sometimes with relatives. Servas is an organisation that promotes peace and friendship by providing hospitality to visitors in exchange for the pleasure of (hopefully) entertaining company. We met some very friendly and interesting people this way, not only in New Zealand but also in Australia and India.
Jackie delighted in the strange plants and they explored the diversity of New Zealand, the beautiful lakes and mountains of the south, glaciers, communities, boiling mud pools, Maori dancing, gannets on the wild west coast near Auckland and sailed to an island that surfaced as a volcano only a few hundred years ago.
At Adelaide in Australia, Jackie presented two papers at the International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists.
They went swimming with elephants in the River Kwai, Thailand and – on a sea kayak – braved the crocodiles near Cape Tribulation, NE Australia. Then they spent a few days in Northern Queensland in a campervan, platypus sightings, sea kayaking, coral snorkelling, a trip to the Whitsunday Islands and sailing in Sydney Harbour.
The final call was a month in India, during the monsoon season which is not normally recommended! They were welcomed to the country by lovely Servas hosts in Mumbai, then headed off south on the Indian Railways which was an experience in its own right (mostly positive). Their stay in Kerala was a real delight, a great place by the Arabian Sea, a trip on the backwaters and a visit to a wildlife park with real wild elephants! Finally they trekked to the Valley of the Flowers in the Himalaya. After struggling up a steep 14 km path, on foot and mule, they saw some beautiful flowers, but were quite ill and decided to come down early from the mountains. A few road blocks later they made it back to Delhi, friends in Mumbai and home.
Home
Earlier in the year there was a country fair at Trelay with shire horses and the first Cornwall-wide Transition conference held there were memorable events.
Their strategic plan for next year includes wind turbines, a large PV roof, a farm shop and a mutual home ownership plan.
During 2012 they have much to do to make Trelay a secure and sustainable venture and we seek some new people to join us and try to develop our farm. They have some great new people, lots of interest and enthusiasm. That should do it!
Jackie’s verdict:
It has been great being back in Trelay – we decided that Cornwall is best: it is paradise with drizzle!
